


The Prophesied Blood Ties

by ibelieve_whiteflag_aslansdefender



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: ???? - Freeform, Angst with a Happy Ending, Baby Arthur, Before the legacy, Cannon Era, Complaining Arthur, Constructive Criticism Welcome, Epic Bromance, Evil Ygraine, F/M, Gaius is and always has been a rule breaker, Gaius's perspective, Gen, Good Uther Pendragon (Merlin), Happy Ending, How Do I Tag, I Tried, No Sex, No Smut, Parent Gaius (Merlin), Prince Merlin (Merlin), Protective Arthur, Protective Merlin, Selfless Merlin, Sharing a Bed, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Ygraine Lives (Merlin), Ygraine's A + parenting, arthur and Merlin are brothers, baby merlin, brave Gaius and Hunith, brave arthur, but not the usual story, but that tag is completely misleading:), but we all know whose the best guardian of the two, definately the lesser of two evils, fluff? i honestly tried, how the legacy began, i honestly never thought I'd use that tag!, just click on this to teach me how to write better:), little brother merlin, mentions of uther - Freeform, no gay - Freeform, pre-show plot, seriously, sorry guy it's not my thing but no offense is meant or portreyed, sweet babies, sweet gaius, two sides of the same coin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2019-12-26 14:29:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18284168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ibelieve_whiteflag_aslansdefender/pseuds/ibelieve_whiteflag_aslansdefender
Summary: It wasn’t particularly foggy that night. Or clear, or cold, or rainy, nor did it have any of the other signs one comes to expect from such a destined night.Gaius's prespective on the birth of the Princes and how two became one.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All the credit for my inspiration and ability goes to Heavenly Father and I know he loves all of you.  
> Thank you, Father!
> 
> Also: NO sex, smut, or gay
> 
> And no discrimination to any gender, religion, sexuality, or race is intended- if you find anything in here offensive- please know I didn't mean it as such and let me know and I will change it!!!! I promise!
> 
> As far as I know there are no triggers (unless you find people wanting to kill Merlin triggering, I'm guilty of that.) but if you find this warning misleading or you do find anything in there that triggers/hurts you- I am so sorry and I'll change it.
> 
> Stay safe everyone!! Have a beautiful, blessed day!

 

It would have made sense for the most important night of all- the night fate and magic twisted together in the bonds of time and sealed the fate of the world- it would have made sense for that night to be marked with a special...something. Anything to mark it as a day outside of the usual- something to make it stand out amongst the blur of all the other inconsequential days.

You’d have thought it’d be remarkable.

And it was- but not for reasons one would have come to expect. It wasn’t particularity foggy that night, or clear, or cold, or rainy, nor did it have any of the other signs one comes to expect from such a destined night. In fact, had the king not been away at the borders, the night wouldn’t have been unexceptional at all. Well, until the births.

 

The physician stood over the bed they laid on, his wrinkled hands slowly setting the damp cloths he’d just used to clean the fluids from them on the table at the beds head, his ocean eyes unable to tear away, entranced with the small saviors on the bed before him.

Such big destinies for such small, beautiful people.

Their mother’s hideous wailing cut into his consciousness, replanting him in the present.

“My Queen- please, you will only damage yourself, be still.”

The Physician’s sister’s voice drifted softly across the room, her gentle murmur hardly more than a whisper above the queen’s screams. The Physician glanced over the princes to ensure their safety, though at their mere minutes old they were months away from mischievous movements.  Then he turned away from them and to his sister standing over the Queen, looking helpless, as she writhed and screamed, sobbing in anguish beneath her.

 

The Physician shuffled over to them, laying a hand on his sister’s shoulder in comfort. She turned to him, meadow green eyes, burning with confusion, seared into his calm-before-the-storm-blue and they conveyed the silent sort of messages only eyes of close loved ones can convey.

The Physician let his hand fall and his sister slipped back behind him to attend to the princes. He stepped up to her side, looking down at her. The comforting peace and the youthful, bubbly excitement that had coursed through his blood a few moments ago, filling his creaky bones with energy and his aged mind with clarity and purpose, all of the wonderful, awakening emotions the sight of the saviors had brought to him- flooded out of him at the sight of their mother, leaving him feeling depleted and empty.

Her sunshine hair lay splayed out on the pillow, her hands twisting and clawing at the sheets draped over to preserve her modesty as she curled in on herself, erupting with a loud, hideous sobs and hysterical nonsense.

“Your Highness, what is wrong? I don’t understand- your sons are healthy-” At the words ‘sons’ she let out a terrible, ugly cry.

“I have born him demons! Uther!- my poor Uther! I have born him demons!” She let out an animal scream and curled in on herself.

Had the Physician been any less accustomed to dealing with her fits, he might have let the shock of surprise at her words show, but he knew better.

_The stories. She believes the stories._

“My Queen, I can assure you, those myths have no founding. There has been no proof that multiple births mean that one is possessed... when the King gets home-” The Physician began, meaning to placate her, to tell her her husband would confirm his testament.

But instead the Queen bolted upright- her sheets sliding down to her middle, revealing the scantily covering birthing gown.  But she took no notice, instead her dark eyes locked on his, looking wild and crazed.

“He’s not home...” She breathed heavily, her eyes no longer seemed quite so wild. There was a hint of control behind the hysterics- making them seem beyond crazed, beyond _crazy_ … dangerous.

“Your Highness-”

But she overrode him- a smile shakily stretching across her face, her breath huffing out in a strangled, maniacal sort of laugh.

“He doesn’t know!” She breathed.

The Physician’s brow wrinkled over his eyes as he tried to decipher her meaning.

What could she mean? What did it matter if he didn’t yet know his sons were born?

A heavy rock settled at the bottom of the Physician’s stomach. Something was wrong. He looked at her crazed eyes and beaming smile and the rock inside twisted.

Something was very wrong.

“My Lady, I don’t understand. The king is on his way back as we speak- he knows you were close to labor when he left... he will surely see you are no longer pregnant-!” The appalled Physician began, but the Queen stopped his words in his throat with an airy wave of her hand. He waited.  A sickening, for-boding feeling writhing within him. She laid back against her pillows, sitting up shoulders squared, not even bothering to readjust the sheets resting in her lap, her face had been wiped clean of all expression. Except a slight, warm glint in her eyes, nearly hidden behind her expressionless mask.

Relief.

She folded her hands in her lap and looked up expectantly at the Physician.

“Show me the demons.” She ordered.

The Physician nodded once and turned away. Somewhere in the back of mind he was grateful to have such sharpened instincts. Because if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have had the mental faculties to move.  His mind was spinning, leaving him no room for original thought, as his heart began to thud painfully against it’s batterings and adrenaline began to pump through his veins.

This was not good.

Only moment ago she’d been in shambles because she believed she’d born demons for heirs -she still believed that, so why did she want to see them? What had she decided that suddenly left her peaceful?

 

The Physician didn’t know, but the rock of dread in his stomach tightened.

He walked over to his sister, who stood above the babies, looking over at him questioningly. The Physician gave the barest trace of a nod, hopefully indecipherable from the Queen’s bed. He slowly strode to her side, automatically looking down before stopping in surprise, all pounding questions dissipating at the sight.

 

He’d placed the babies about a foot away from each other just as a precaution so they wouldn’t accidentally hurt their brother, despite the babies being far too young to move. But- they had.

They lay curled up together, each little head gently resting against the other’s, their tiny fingers curled together. The blond lay, sound asleep, with both his hands, the entwined and the free, and his right leg, draped across his brother, coincidentally seeming to be in just the position over his brother’s vital organs. As if he’d positioned himself to protect his brother. But what was somewhat even stranger, was that his small brother, seeming even more fragile curled up inside the blond’s protective cocoon, was simply watching his brother. While his guardian, assured that his brother would be protected, fell asleep, the little one looked up at him, just watching, his big cerulian eyes seemed sad, but the Prince didn’t utter a single complaint or cry. Only watched.

The Physician turned to look at his sister, his surprised eyes probing hers, questioning. Had she moved the Princes? She met his gaze and again the years of knowing each other communicated without words. No.

The Physician turned back to the boys, their sweet tableau still frozen in time, they only sign they were even still affected by it was the slow, synchronized movement of their chests.

_This shouldn’t be possible._ He could feel his sister’s eyes burning back into his, soundlessly conveying the thought. The Physician turned slightly to face her and nodded, answering her unheard thought.

It shouldn’t. But then, their destinies shouldn’t either.

But yet his people’s survival depended on them doing the impossible.

“Now.” The Queen’s voice barked across the room and cutting through his thoughts, snapping him back to the present.

Right.

Without even having to look at his sister, they both reached for the princes. His sister reached for the blond, gently scooping his soft hands underneath the baby, cupping her palm behind the prince’s head before gingerly pulling the infant toward her, disentangling the brothers. The baby’s amber eyes opened slowly, his white  brows bending over his eyes in confusion as he looked back at his brother below. He whimpered, reaching out his hand as if to take his brother’s, but she continued to pull him away. Whimpering turned to wailing which turned to screaming, and she immediately cupped the little red faced Prince to her chest, stepping away from the bed and bobbing up and down, muttering soothing sounds to the sobbing baby. The Physician looked down at the tiny raven haired babe still on the bed, the breakable infant looked up at him, his expression mournful. Tears in his eyes making the deep blue a kalidascope. But even as they streaked down his cheeks he didn’t make a sound. The Physician bent down, ignoring the ache in his back, and slid his wrinkled fingers beneath the child.

“I’m so sorry, little one. Everything’s going to be okay, I promise. You’ll be back with your brother in a moment. He’s fine, just high standards for his naptime.” The Physician whispered his meaningless nothings under his breath as he tucked the crying Prince into the crook of his arms and hobbled after his sister to the Queen’s bed.

“My lady, did you wish to hold them?” His sister asked, her fingers carding the blond fuzz on the still screaming Prince’s head as she swayed to an unheard rythym.

The Queen’s composure slipped, her panicked disgust spilling through the cracks before she shook her head tightly, glaring up at the young blond.

“Will he ever shut up?!” She growled.

The Physician almost gasped, biting his toung sharply to stop himself, a metalic taste filling his mouth.

Beside him, his sister paled and a tremour seemed to shake through her body.

But she bowed her head reverently, seeming to rock the inconsolable infant fiercer.

 

“I’m sorry, M’lady… I-I can’t seem to quiet him…”

The Queen scoffed in disgust. At the baby or his sister, the Physician couldn’t tell

“That wretched noise day and night- absolutely not!” Then she twisted abruptly to the Physician, or, rather, the Prince in his arms.

The dread curling in his stomach spasmed as her eyes hardened as they landed on her baby.

“That’s it? That’s all of him?! Heavens he’ll be dead in a week!” The small infant’s gasps for air were the only sounds to fit with the shaking sobs wracking his little frame as the Queen swivled back to his brother.

Annoyance glinted in her eyes.

“Aung… his incessint screams will have to do…”

Perhaps if his mind were as young as his sister’s he’d understand what the Queen meant? But he shifted slightly toward her and her brows were bent in confusion as well.

“My Queen… do you mean…. to make the blond prince heir?” The Physician asked slowly. His mind churned like a butter mill, but his heart sunk like an anchor.

_Something’s wrong. Something’s wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. WrongWrongwrongwrongwrongwrong_

“Of course I do-!” The Queen scoffed.

The vice-like-grip on the Physician’s heart loosened and relief flooded throughout his old body- only to be stopped cold be her next nonchalant words.

“-The other one will be dead.”

No amount of training could stop his reaction.

His and his sister’s gasps echoed throughout the chamber as both doubled back. The Physicain couldn’t draw a breath and his sister’s eyes bugged like she’d be struck.

“Dead?!” her words were pinched and shrill with the horror the Physician felt coursing through him.

“Obviously he’s going to be the one you’ll kill, he wouldn’t last a day anyway, then the Demon’s hold will release on the surviving brat, Uther will never know I’ve shamed him and Camelot will have it’s heir.”

No.

_No._

**_No!_ **

 

The Physician looked down at the helpless infant nestled in the crook of his arms. At the tears streaking down his feather-soft cheeks, while he sobbed silently, as if he already knew his terrible fate.  At the big innocent eyes. At the Prince who was destined to save his kind and free the world. At the Prince who hadn’t had more than five minutes of life. Never smiled. Never laughed. Never played. Never danced. Never loved. Never lived.

And now life was being ripped away from him before he ever could.

And his heart broke.

Stabbed. Bled.

Shattered.

_No,no. No. no.no.no.nononononono_

_Obviously no!_ His Sister’s voice filled his mind, a determined bite in it.

“Of course, M’lady. A wise choice.” She said aloud, her voice deceptively humble and submissive. Praising.

The Physician’s heart swelled with hope.

His sister hadn’t  failed in anything she’d set her heart too in her whole life.

_What can we do? She’s the Queen. If we’re caught…_

But his heart was ready, willing, already anticipating.

_We don’t get caught._

“Gaius, I can’t seem to calm him.” She said, turning to the Physician, her voice meek and helpless. Her eyes burning with determination and fire.

“Here, I’ll take his Highness,” The Physician said, holding out his free arm and pulling the red, wriggling infant again his chest, before proffering his other arm. She gracefully- gently- took the sweet baby, pressing him to her chest and rocking softly as she rubbed his back.

The Physician’s arm felt strangely empty without the weightless person cradled in it.

He wrapped the spare arm around the scared blond, wishing with all his heart he could tell the little Prince that his brother would be okay.

“And I’ll take the runt.” She finished, to unacostumed ears, her voice probably sounded cold and distant. But the Physician had played pretend with her far to often in youth. He knew it was love.

“Excellant- and be quick about it- Uther could be home any moment!”

His sister nodded, bobbing her head at the Queen before turning for the door. Their eyes electric green met ocean blue and worlds of words passed between them. Then with a flash of vanilla and the brush of her purple skirts against his leg she was gone, vanished out the door for what his heart knew was the last time for a long time to come.

_Hunith-_

_Yes, brother?_

_Ealdore. Go to Ealdore._

A laugh like tinkling bells chimed in his head.

_I always was, brother._

The lump in his throat was raw as tears leaped to his eyes. He blinked them away before the Queen could see.

_I love you, Hunith._ He knew she had to go- was eternally greatful that she was- but every step she took his heart broke.

_And I love you. But don’t say it like you saying goodbye, silly old coot. We’ll be back._

They chuckled, his more of a dying wheeze and then she was gone.

He was drawn back in time not by the twisting, sobbing baby in his arms, but the complaints of his mother.

“Honestly- shut that thing up before I do!”

He crushed the Prince to his chest even tighter, bending next to the infant’s ear with the only comfort either of them had.

“Don’t cry, little Prince. They’ll be back.”


	2. The Great Divide

 

 

Dear Sister,

I have covered your disappearance. I told our King that you’ve commited suicide, and the Queen that it was guilt of killing the runt that drove you too it. You are safe. I hope all is well and that Eledore has accepted you. 

How is the little Prince? I pray he survived the journey.

The King returned last night and was overjoyed to meet his son- the two have been inseperable since.

The babe will be named Arthur and he is being christianed as heir to Camelot in a fortnight’s time.

He is unhappy. He misses his brother. But destiny is marching forward, and the Gods Willing, they’ll meet again. Gods Willing so will we. 

Until then, I love you.

~Gaius

 

_Dear Brother,_

_We, both of us, for the little guy is stronger than he looks, were received well._

_They believe an unwed affair with obvious implications drove me back to Eledore and have welcomed my medicinal experiance._

_They theorized the stress of the journey has made me barren of milk and the widowed mother of an infant named Will has kindly taken on Merlin as well. That’s what I’ve decided to call him._

_The poor dear was inconsolable after we left- he never made a sound but his little heart was broken. He cried for days._

_But a Merlin bird land on a branch beside us and sang to him and he stopped to watch it. So Merlin seemed an appropriate name. He hasn’t cried since, but he’s not happy either. He knows he should be with his brother. It breaks my heart, Gaius. And when I think of the destiny in store- I used to dream of it. And now I look at him and I dread what is too come.  But as I said before, he’s stronger than he looks. We’ll make it._

 

Dear Sister, 

The kingdom is approaching the celebration of Arthur’s first birthday and the royal family is crumbling.

Uther is young and naive. He is blinded to Ygraine’s true nature by his love for her and Arthur only suffers from it.

I am afraid to leave him alone in a room with her. She wants nothing to do with him, but when her moods swing she becomes volatile.

Uther burst into the Infirmary last night in a panic. Arthur was wheezing, terribly distressed, and his eyes were unfocused. It wasn’t until he began seizing that I realized what it was.

She told Uther she was helping him walk when he fell and hit his head. But I saw her eyes, Sister.

She gave him the concussion.

The Prince is stable and recovering in your room and as soon as the council meeting is over I am going to suggest to Uther that he and the Queen are far too busy running the kingdom to watch him so often. I’ll offer myself until the Prince is old enough to study under his Father. But I do not know how Uther will react to the suggestion.

He is so desperate to be a better father than his own that I fear he will see it as neglect. One thing of note I must tell you though- when his highness fell asleep after I stabilized him, he muttered Merlin’s name. He’s barely learned his father’s name and he’s never heard Merlin’s. But he was talking to him... Sister, I am still dumbfounded by the thought. 

I hope all is well.

I love you always.

~Gaius

 

_Dear Brother,_

_My heart is hammering in my throat and my hand is trembling so I can hardly hold to quill to the paper. Before you panic as you inevitably will, we are both well._

_But Gaius, I have to tell you something and once I do you must destroy the evidence, it is too damning to keep._

_Merlin has magic._

_And it is stronger than any I have ever seen! I’d fallen from a horse and fractured my back. I was paralized. But when they brought Merlin to me after the accident, he saw my pain and his eyes flashed gold and I was felt my bones knit back together._

_He’s stronger than so many legends and he’s barely one winter old! I recieved your letter yesterday and there is no doubt in my mind that their connected to each other. I wouldn’t be surprised if Merlin reached out to Arthur magically._

_But Gaius, this brings so many worries to my heart- how can Merlin save us if he must hide his magic? And oh Brother, what if he can’t? I can’t loose him, Gaius, I can’t! I know I am not his mother but he’s the light of my life. I love him._

_How my heart aches when I think of the destiny that awaits them._

_I love you, brother. I wish you were here. But Arthur and Uther need you._

_I’ll be strong until I see you again._

_Always._

 

Dear Sister,

Nothing makes me feel more ancient than chasing Arthur across the castle.

He’s forever pestering me with a why for everything and tromping about underfoot. He still talks to Merlin all the time, asking his oppinion and ordering him about. Telling him to shut up because he’s the heir and that’s how he knows better. I wonder how much of it is imagined. 

Uther is growing concerned though.

He’s worried at Arthur’s lack of tangible friends and is trying to spend more time with the boy. Arthur is resisting though, perferring to trail after me and avoid the ‘mean lady’.

Uther is begining to see the broken layers of his family. The royal couple announced to me privately that they are expecting again, but later the young king sobbed in my Infirmary that it couldn’t be his. She’s turned him down in bed for months now, only further proof of the widening the tear in their family.

He’s no naive fool anymore. He’s beggining to realize what all the scars on Arthur back mean.

His heart is breaking and the kingdom only suffers more for it. He sees his son’s pain as echoes of what his father’s magic did to him and he’s so consumed with his quest to protect others from their pain that he's redoubled his efforts to eradicate all trace of the forbidden art.

 His grief leaves a trail of blood and sobs behind him. 

As for me, I am well enough. A little more creaky and cranky. 

I’ll be fine. 

All my love,

~Gaius

 

_Dear Brother,_

_I understand what you mean about Arthur driving you insane._

_Merlin, bless his sweet heart, tries to be helpful and good. But he almost always tries by forgetting entirely anything I’ve told him about hiding his magic._

_Tonight he wanted to apologize because last night he refused to eat the first food we’d had for days because he felt so bad for the chicken._

_I yelled at him a bit, he’s already so thin- heaven knows he’ll blow away come winter if we can’t scavenge him more food. But he felt terrible about it, so he dragged me out to the Town Coop to show me he’d snapped all of their necks so we could eat them. With magic._

_The town is in an uproar about the loss, and Merlin cried silently with every bite. But I explained it away to predators, and however many eggless days are to come, the whole village was full tonight._

_It feels so trivial to complain about our small struggles when the struggles in Camelot are so monumental and life shattering._

_As for how much is their imaginations, I really couldn’t guess. Merlin tropes about in the trees complaining constantly for Arthur to ‘slow down’ and ‘stop being such a clotpole’. I honestly have no idea where he comes up with half of it, but it’s like he’s convinced he’s trekking about after his brother. Will, I’ve told you a bit about him, he’s a boy the Princes’ age,  has taken a shine to following him around. He asks who Merlin is talking too and Merlin only looks at him in confusion, like he thinks everyone can see and hear Arthur. They’ve started spending more time together and it seems to be good for both of them._

_As for me, I’m fine too. Better than you, I imagine._

_I love you. I’m happy here._

_I didn’t think I would be, but I am._

_I’ll be here waiting until you can be happy here too._

 

Dear Sister,

Uther doesn’t allow Arthur to be alone with the Queen anymore. Her moods have grown even worse, and her shrieking can be heard from all ends of the castle.

Everyone knows the truth of her cruelty, but he keeps her around and continues the facade of her being the same charming and wonderful woman she so long ago pretended to be. His court is too frightened to say they know the truth, and he is so frightened of loosing his love he turns a blind eyes to the terrors she creates.

Except with his son. He has forbidden both of them to ever interract with the other except when they need too in front of the court.

Arthur doesn’t understand why, but he likes his father much more now that he doesn’t make him be near the ‘mean lady’. He’s developed something of an idol-worship for the King and has taken to trailing after him throughout the day and mirroring his actions. In many ways it is a relief to have him back under the King’s care. But I’ve actually missed the incessient chatter and snobbish commands. 

I wouldn’t mind if he visited a little more. 

While I’m on the subject, early this morning I had the pleasure of delivering the Queen’s beautiful baby girl.

Uther ordered her immediately removed from Ygraine’s presense. It seems he won’t repeat the mistakes he made with Arthur.

He held her gently, and even though she is not his, he loves her. He has named her Morgana and has entrusted her under my care as my ward. He is this very moment going to Geoffry to officially make me her legal parent in case anything ever goes unimaginably wrong with Ygraine. As far as the Kingdom knows she will be Morgana Pendragon. But as far as her safety and security goes, she is your neice.

I look down at her and she takes my breath away. I finally understand what you’ve been saying all these years. And while I’ve rambled to the subject of children that aren’t mine, since her birth, Arthur hasn’t said a word to Merlin. This saddens me, and I must wonder if we’ve come to the end of an era. Our boys are growing up.

I love you, Sister.

~Gaius

 

_Dear Brother,_

_I am glad Arthur is becoming closer to his father. I fear you are right, the beautiful era has ended. Merlin has been spending more time with Will and slowly they’ve stopped talking to Arthur. I asked him why and he didn't know who I was talking about. My heart aches at it, but I am so happy for you and sweet Morgana. As for the Kingdom's disarray, Uther is a good man. We have to keep hope._

_I love you, Brother._

_Happy Birthday, Old Man._

 

Dear Sister,

As you know from my last letter, the balance of the heirarchy has tipped and Ygraine rules freely while Uther lies in his coma. He still doesn't respond to my treatments. As much as it tears me apart to say it, he is truly beyond my help. 

She has turned the council to her side and corrupted the knights and the code into a twisted shell of it's previous standard. 

She's grooming Arthur as her lackey, threatening to kill his father if doesn't obey. He's becoming exactly what she wants him to be and the Kingdom is loosing hope.

I'm loosing hope.

I love you, always.

~Gaius

 

_Dear Brother,_

_I am sorry for the late reply. This winter has been harsh and the illness has ravaged through Eledore. It took Will. It almost took my Merlin as well._

_I am fine._

_I love you, Gaius. You're everything._

 

Dear Sister,

Are you both alright? I've enclosed some scarves and cloaks. Write me when you can. I'll be praying for you.

 

Dear Sister,

I am worried. Do you need me to send Morgana? Arthur could disguise the trip as a patrol and accompany her. She's very skilled with healing. Write me back.

 

Dear Sister, 

It has been almost a month and I cannot stop myself from fearing the worst. I'm coming. Please hold on. I don't know what I'd do without you- _please don't go_

 

He threw himself off the horse, his age chased away by the terror charging through his veins and dread bleeding in his stomach. He hobbled through the dusty street, eons younger than he had been in years and oblivious to the saddened eyes watching him.

_Please no, oh God Above- please!_

He burst through the rotting door, pulling up short in the doorway.

Gaius's heart stopped.

Merlin knelt beside her, his fingers shaking as he closed her eyes. His other hand clutching hers like if he held her tight enough she would come back. 

And for the first time in his life, his sobs rang through the room.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I wrote it so weirdly. It doesn't continue the original chapters writing style at all. I just wanted to tell about the time between, before I introduced the current time. But it's been a long time since I wrote this fic and trying to continue it now is obviously very clunky. I hope to get better, and any other chapter will be written as actual chapters, I promise.  
> I love you all so much and I hope you have a beautiful day!


End file.
